Olevia Fulcher Miller

Olevia Fulcher Miller, age 90 ½, passed away peacefully on January 8, 2026, with her family by her side.

Olevia was raised and worked on a farm in Harnett County and went to Angier School. She later moved to the big city of Raleigh to work for North Carolina Employment Security Commission.

She is survived by her devoted and patient husband of almost 60 years, Larry; her son Thomas and daughter-in-law Christy and their children Peyton, Eden, and Lela; her daughter Nicole Manning and son-in-law Ken, and their children Amy and Amber, and great-granddaughters Serenity and Emersyn; and her sisters Linda Honeycut and Darlene Autry. She had numerous nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews, as well as many other special people that she loved dearly.

She was predeceased by her parents Onnie and Nell Fulcher, and her sister Nancy Giles.

Olevia retired from ESC in 1985 after more than 30 years of service. She had established many life-long friendships there. She went back to work for them at the request of Reuben Edwards for an additional 6 years. During this second tenure she accumulated multiple honorary "children" and more great friends. She eventually retired again and was able to enjoy more time visiting with other retirees and traveling. During retirement, she proudly received the "Order of the Long Leaf Pine" signed by Governor Jim Martin. She was awarded the "North Carolina Retiree of the Year" award five times, and she received the "International Retiree of the Year" award in 2004. At that time, she was the only North Carolinian to have ever received this international award. From there, she went on to win the Hall of Fame award, the North Carolina Lifetime Achievement award, and then the International Lifetime Achievement award.

Somewhere along the way she started receiving pigs. Over the years there were 1000s of pig pictures, shirts, figurines, and anything anyone saw that had a pig on it that collected in her house. During the last few years she started re-gifting these pigs either to the original giver or anyone else who wanted a pig in memory of her!

She spent many many summers at White Lake laying out in the sun on the pier. She was famous for the extra extra large panties hanging on the clothesline. From there she made life-long Lake friends that became family. She went on many trips with her Lake Sisters wearing their matching outfits.

She was known as Mama, Ma, Mother, Ma Miller, Libbo, and Mema to her friends and family from South Carolina and North Carolina.

She and Larry would have been married 60 years in April. They stuck it out through the good and the bad. The last few years really showed their devotion to each other as they dealt with many health issues and took care of one another best they could. Olevia survived many falls, broken bones, heart issues, breathing issues, while Larry had heart surgery and hip replacement. When it was time for her to meet Jesus, Larry was right by her side and at peace knowing she had fought the good fight and overcame.

Olevia was so proud of her children and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Spending time with them was the highlight of her life.

She will be remembered always as a talker, never met a stranger, and never had a censor. She was definitely one of a kind... thankfully, because this world would only have been able to handle one Olevia.

A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 1:00pm at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, 1200 Benson Road, Garner, NC 27529. Entombment will follow at Montlawn Memorial Park. The family will receive friends on Tuesday evening from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the funeral home.

Online condolences may be made at www.bryan-leefuneralhome.com